Business action on climate change
Business action on climate change is a topic which since 2000 includes a range of activities relating to climate change, and to influencing political decisions on climate change-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of climate change, especially in the United States, through lobbying of government and funding of climate change deniers. Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of climate change, through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
Global Climate Coalition[edit]
A central organization in climate denial was the Global Climate Coalition (1989–2002), a group of mainly United States businesses opposing immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The coalition funded deniers with scientific credentials to be public spokespeople, provided industry a voice on climate change and fought the Kyoto Protocol. The New York Times reported that "even as the coalition worked to sway opinion [towards denial], its own scientific and technical experts were advising that the science backing the role of greenhouse gases in global warming could not be refuted."[17]
In the year 2000, the rate of corporate members leaving accelerated when they became the target of a national divestiture campaign run by John Passacantando and Phil Radford with the organization Ozone Action. According to The New York Times, when Ford Motor Company was the first company to leave the coalition, it was "the latest sign of divisions within heavy industry over how to respond to global warming."[18][19] After that, between December 1999 and early March 2000, the GCC was deserted by Daimler-Chrysler, Texaco, the Southern Company and General Motors.[20]
The organization closed in 2002, or in their own words, 'deactivated'.
U.S. Climate Action Partnership[edit]
The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) was formed in January 2007 with the primary goal of influencing the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the United States. Original members included General Electric, Alcoa, and Natural Resources Defense Council, and they were joined in April 2007 by ConocoPhillips and AIG.
Banks[edit]
In 2021 the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) in Brazil declared that it will not support more coal thermal power stations and projects related to them. The bank wants to take actions in a similar direction in other sectors of the economy. The bank is considered as the "least worst" from all the banks of Brazil according to Responsible Banking Guide.[79]
Nonetheless, many other major banks have continued to fund the development of fossil fuels instead of climate change mitigation.[80]
Insurance industry[edit]
In 2004 Swiss Re, the world's second largest reinsurance company, warned that the economic costs of climate-related disasters threatened to reach $150 billion a year within ten years.[81]
In 2006 Lloyd's of London, published a report highlighting the latest science and implications for the insurance industry.[82]
Swiss Re has said that if the shore communities of four Gulf Coast states choose not to implement adaptation strategies, they could see annual climate-change related damages jump 65 percent a year to $23 billion by 2030. "Society needs to reduce its vulnerability to climate risks, and as long as they remain manageable, they remain insurable, which is our interest as well," said Mark D. Way, head of Swiss Re's sustainable development for the Americas.[83][84]
AIG is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) (see above).
Zurich Insurance Group, according to Ben Harper, the head of the sustainability unit in the North American section of the company, has a program for reducing its carbon footprint: make the facilities 100% renewables in a few years, reduce the use of paper by 80%, stop using single-use plastic, invest $4.6 billion in green and social projects. The company already has many green products and services and want to make more. The work on the implementation was not stopped at the time of Coronavirus disease 2019 and the pandemic may result even in higher ecological consciousness, among other it increase demand for ecological products, walking, biking, simple living.[85] The company was the leading insurer of the Trans Mountain pipeline, but stopped supporting it, in July 2020.[86]
Finance management[edit]
Black Rock[edit]
In January 2020 BlackRock, the largest finance management company in the world, announced that it would begin divestment from thermal coal and take other measures to make its assets more sustainable. Other companies that made similar statements include "Goldman Sachs, Liberty Mutual,... the Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., ... and the European Investment Bank—the largest international public bank in the world "[91]
JP Morgan[edit]
The company is the biggest investor in fossil fuels in the world, therefore many try to persuade it to take climate action. In 2017 the company committed to giving 200 billion dollars to clean finance by 2025 and take 100% of its energy from renewables by the end of 2020. It expects to reach both targets. In 2020 the company pledged to give 200 billion to support climate action and reaching Sustainable Development Goals in the year 2020, expand the restriction on investment in coal and stop investment in arctic oil and gas drilling, create a more sustainable investment portfolio, join the climate action 100+ coalition. It did not pledge to stop investments in tar sands, fracking and other fossil fuels.[92][93]
In October 2020 JPMorgan Chase declared that it began to work on achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.[94]
Despite its promises to reduce emissions, JPMorgan Chase still has invested heavily in fossil fuels.[95] In 2021 they invested around US$62 billion in fossil fuels.[96] This brings JPMorgan Chase to a total of nearly US$382 billion invested in fossil fuels since 2016.[96] There has been some green project investments, but they are a third of the revenue the banking firm has made from fossil fuels.[97]
In light of the IPCC 2022 report climate scientists took action and protested fossil fuel investments on a global scale.[98][99] In LA Climate Scientists chose the JP Morgan building due to JPMorgan Case heavy investment in fossil fuels.[98][100] These scientists were met with a swarm of police and later arrested after chaining themselves to the front doors and blocking the entrance.[98][100]
HSBC[edit]
In October 2020, HSBC, the biggest bank in Europe, committed to achieve zero emission by 2050, e.g., by this year it would not only become carbon neutral by itself but also will work only with carbon neutral clients. It also committed to provide 750–1,000 billion dollars to help clients make the transition. It also pledged to achieve carbon neutrality in his own operations by 2030.[101]